


More Than Pyramids and Pom-Poms

by literaryempress



Category: Shameless (US)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Gender Changes, Alternate Universe - High School, Cheerleaders, F/F, Friends to Lovers, Friendship, Gender or Sex Swap, Romance, Teen Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-06
Updated: 2015-08-06
Packaged: 2018-04-13 06:16:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,978
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4511007
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/literaryempress/pseuds/literaryempress
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>She's a high school cheerleader. She, too, is a high school cheerleader. They've been best friends since sophomore year, and they've become so much more in such little time.</p>
            </blockquote>





	More Than Pyramids and Pom-Poms

Ingrid and Michaela have been friends since their sophomore year of high school, and they have been inseparable ever since. They joined the cheerleading squad together and went to every game, cheering for their school’s football team every school year. Whenever they got together in between classes and at lunch, it was clear that the other students knew how in sync the two of them were.

In her junior year of high school, Ingrid had became junior class president, thanks to Michaela and her sister Mandy’s tremendous campaigning efforts. Michaela also became homecoming queen in the same year, thanks to Ingrid’s homemade posters, with some help from her sisters, Debbie and Fiona. Ever since their friendship started, they have always supported each other, no matter how difficult the task, and they never planned to stop.

Until the moment in their lives came where support didn’t seem like enough.

Michaela and Ingrid always changed in the locker room for cheerleading practice before the other girls made it down – sometimes after, depending on what either one was up to. They usually did it due to Michaela’s low self esteem about her body. She wasn’t as fit as Ingrid or the other girls were, and it made her a little self-conscious. Every time Ingrid told Michaela how good she looked no matter what size – God, Michaela was surprised Ingrid could even see that – Michaela tried her best to believe it, but she still preferred to change when the other girls weren’t around.

Now Ingrid, on the other hand – Michaela thought she was a fucking goddess. Her red, flowing hair went all the way down just above her curved butt.

Shit.

Michaela’s dad would kill her if he found out that she was a lesbian. Other relatives before Michaela got cut off by Terry whenever they were caught kissing their gay significant others within Terry’s radar. Michaela didn’t want to be another family member added to that list.

But she couldn’t help herself. Ingrid really looked nice. She was very tall – but not tall enough to get stuck in a door – and everything about her looked natural. Her mother did a great job making her, Michaela thought.

Michaela couldn’t keep doing this. She had to snap back to reality. She had to go back to the reality that was gonna protect her from her father if anything happens. She had to go back to the reality that Ingrid and Michaela were just best friends who just so happened to shake pompons and rule the school together.

But damn, Michaela wanted so much more than that.

* * *

Senior year came sooner than both Ingrid and Michaela had expected. Nine months from now, they were going to be graduating from high school. Michaela wasn’t sure of her chances of getting into some of the high schools Ingrid helped her find. A lot of them consisted of students who had GPAs higher than Michaela did. Hell, even Ingrid’s grades were better than that.

That was the one thing scaring the shit out of Michaela. Ingrid and Michaela have created such a great bond between each other, and now there’s that possibility that they could get separated from each other. Michaela didn’t want that for their friendship, and Ingrid sure as hell didn’t, either.

So when the application process began at their school, they found all of the schools they mutually liked and applied for them. Michaela would do anything to stay by Ingrid’s side, even if it meant that she had to compromise her interests with Ingrid’s.

Ingrid and Michaela always showed up at the Gallagher household to study for any and all tests to guarantee their acceptance in some of the schools they applied to. It was a bitch just to study, though. Michaela was always the Math wizard, and Ingrid always had her way with words when it came to English. They each had faults that sometimes neither one of them could fix, but they tried their best. The effort to stay together was worth it, after all.

Michaela’s dad never really believed in his children when it came to education. He never graduated from high school and never went to college, so he wasn’t the best motivator in Michaela’s life. So when Michaela started getting mail sent to her house from the colleges she applied to, she made sure that Terry didn’t get to them before she did.

It was almost spring break, and Michaela and Ingrid were in Ingrid’s backyard. Ingrid had offered to paint Michaela’s toenails while the latter smoked above her. Beside them on the porch steps were a stack of acceptance letters that haven’t been opened. They all came from University of Chicago, Southern Illinois University at Carbondale, Ohio State University, and Michigan State University respectively.

“I don’t want to look at these.” Michaela admitted out loud, even though she hadn’t intended to in the first place. Sure, she made a promise to Ingrid from the beginning, but that didn’t mean she was comfortable with reading what colleges thought of her.

Ingrid gazed up at Michaela, emerald meeting a sparkly blue. If Michaela didn’t know better, she would have thought that Ingrid’s bottom lip sticking out at her was kind of cute. “Mick, we agreed to this already. You can’t back out now.”

“I know, I know,” Michaela replied. “It’s just…” She took a drag of her cigarette for a moment before looking down at Ingrid’s face. It was dark outside, and the porch lights on her house were a little dull, but everything illuminated off of her really nicely. Michaela was one hundred percent sure that she would miss that face if they had to go to different schools.

“I don’t think I’m gonna make it in college.” Michaela finally stated, playing with the hem of her sleeveless shirt. “I mean, you, Ingrid – you’re a fucking powerhouse. I would run someone over with a Jeep if they didn’t think of you as smart.” Ingrid giggled a little under her breath, and boy, did Michaela love that laugh or what? “But…well, I don’t think I’m smart enough to make it the whole way, you know?”

Ingrid shifted uncomfortably in her seat at the sound of her best friend’s words as if everything Michaela was saying was wrong. And fuck it, even if that was true, but Michaela wasn’t confident in herself as Ingrid was. There weren’t that many positive influences in her life that convinced her that she could go on and do great things, even if she wanted to. Hell, Michaela could barely get a firm hold of her motivation with every History class she has ever taken.

Michaela felt the guilt build up in her as Ingrid scooted up so she was sitting at the same level she was. “But Mick,” she spoke as light as a feather, Michaela’s nickname adorably escaping Ingrid’s lips, “we didn’t come all this way for nothing, right? We studied together, went to tutoring together, exchanged and organized our schedules together – we literally did everything together that brought us here. We can’t back out now.”

“Yeah, I know,” Michaela responded, “that’s the thing.” She braced herself for a few brief moments, exhaling a couple of times before she let Ingrid know the truth. “We _have_ been doing a lot of stuff together. We’re the fuckin’ homecoming queen and senior class president.”

Ingrid nodded in agreement. “We have been a team all this time, haven’t we?” She shot one of her million-dollar smiles, and Michaela swore she felt a tear coming on somewhere, but she pushed it away.

Michaela gulped before placing a painted hand on Ingrid’s knee. “I don’t want you to leave me, Ingrid.” It was harder than Michaela expected since the lump in her throat continued to expand. “You changed my whole fucking high school experience. I’d be a fucking loner if you haven’t been with me all this time. I did so terribly in my freshman year, but then I met you on the first day of sophomore year, and I saw something in you that others didn’t. I don’t think I would even pass English if you helped me with all the damn books we read in class.”

The air grew thicker between them – most likely due to Michaela’s nerves getting the better of her and Ingrid’s reaction to the words spilling out of her mouth. Michaela caught herself gripping onto Ingrid’s knee, a tad bit harder than she did previously. “You’re so special to me. Like, really fucking special, and…” The tear that had been waiting to come out of Michaela’s eye had finally appeared, creating a trail down her left cheek. “I love you.”

Ingrid hadn’t expected that at all. Never in a million years would she have ever heard Michaela Milkovich, the same girl who bullied underclassmen for lunch money, say those special three words. She had so many questions about it, primary about the first time Michaela realized that she loved Ingrid as much as she did.

For the time being, Ingrid just settled with a teary smile. “I love you, too.”

They were silent, with the exception of a couple of sniffles escaping their noses. Michaela gazed into Ingrid’s eyes for a brief moment. “Ingrid?”

“Yeah?”

Michaela glanced down at her lap nervously. She had never kissed a girl before. She remembered sharing kisses with two other boys previously, both of them turning out to be scumbags who weren’t interested in a committed relationship. In retrospect, Michaela didn’t even want to be in a relationship herself.

That is, until she discovered her best friend, and that just opened the door wide enough to allow Michaela to try out some things she has never even considered before.

“C-can I…kiss you?” Michaela nervously asked.

Before, if you would have asked her to ask another girl to kiss her, she’d slap the living shit out of you before your lungs had the chance to take in anymore oxygen. Now, she kind of wondered what that feeling was like, to have another girl’s lip gloss on her dark lipstick. Would the first kiss turn out the way people predicted in movies and such? Or would it turn out to be some sort of shit fest that Michaela was secretly expecting to happen in the first place?

Ingrid didn’t even give her an answer; she just leaned in and planted her soft lips onto Michaela’s, easing her into the kiss as comfortably and slowly as she could.

Turns out, it was ten times better than kissing boys – or maybe Michaela was just thinking that because of the way Ingrid eased her into it.

Still, Michaela reciprocated the kiss, opening her mouth slightly so Ingrid’s tongue could make an entrance. It was the softest kiss ever, but boy, did it send shivers down her spine or what? They continued to make out on Ingrid’s porch, one of Michaela’s painted hands reaching up to Ingrid’s freckly cheek to caress it as they continued.

The kiss started to deepen some when the two girls heard the back door of the house open, and they both scattered away from each other once they saw Michaela’s dad step out. “What the fuck is this?” he started, and Ingrid turned away, embarrassed by the scene in front of her.

“Dad, I can explain.” Michaela spoke, standing up where she was sitting.

However, Terry Milkovich didn’t take the bait, and he slapped the side of Michaela’s face until a mark started to show on her pale skin. “None of my kids are gonna be fucking faggots!” he yelled at her. He gestured towards Michaela’s bag on the steps. “Get all of your stuff and let’s go!”

Michaela didn’t protest. She slowly inched away from where her father was and picked up her backpack, her college letters, and her nail polish. When Michaela had everything, Terry eyed Ingrid for a moment before turning to his daughter. “You’re not allowed to come back over here, understand?”

“But Dad –“

“Better yet,” Terry added, “you’re coming home the moment school ends. Bottom line.”

“I have cheerleading practice and tutoring after school.”

“Should have thought of that before you started putting your whore lips on other girls,” Terry replied. “What the hell you gonna do after school, make out with the whole fucking squad?”

While Michaela and her dad argued back and forth with each other, Ingrid turned her head and noticed Fiona come out to witness the commotion. “What the hell is going on?” Fiona asked as Ingrid stood up and brought an arm around her older sister.

“I tell you what the fuck is going on.” Terry began, not turning away from his daughter for a second. “What’s going on is that your AIDs-breeding sister is trying to turn out my fucking daughter!”

Michaela had enough. She wasn’t going to let her father get in the way of hers and Ingrid’s friendship – or was it even a friendship still after the kiss the girls shared? Michaela wasn’t sure. Regardless, she couldn’t let her father get away with calling Ingrid out of her name, the same way she couldn’t let other students from their high school call her out of her name. “Leave Ingrid alone. She’s not who you think she is.”

“Oh yeah, then what the fuck is she?” Terry barked back. “In my eyes, she’s always been a bad influence on you. I should have suspected something when you fuckin’ came home late after homecoming week!”

“Well then suspect! I don’t give a fuck!” Michaela shouted for the whole neighborhood to hear, tossing her belongings down on the ground. “Ingrid’s my best friend, and you have no say in what I should and shouldn’t do with her! You have no idea what Ingrid and I are! We…” Michaela paused, taking a glance over at Ingrid and back to her father. “We’re fucking girlfriends!”

No one spoke for a brief moment, for Terry was having trouble processing all of this information at once. “That’s right, _girlfriends_. I don’t mean friends who just so happen to be girls. I mean hand-holding, cheesy-smilin’, lip-kissin’ girlfriends. You know, like how you have Romeo and Juliet with a chick? You ever thought of that, Dad?”

Michaela wasn’t exactly sure how she managed to get so much fury out of herself in just one loud battle cry, but she did. She confessed her love for her best friend in front of her homophobic father, and she felt as if a giant weight has been lifted from her shoulders.

Unfortunately, it wasn’t something Terry could tolerate. The man was furious with his daughter, literally balling up his hands into fists at his sides until they became red and white all over. He started to reach for his daughter in an attempt to punch her in the face, but Michaela went running in the Gallagher house, with Ingrid running directly after her. Terry started to follow, leaving Fiona downstairs to make a phone call to the authorities.

Ingrid and Michaela made it into the bedroom Ingrid shared with Fiona. They both managed to shove the dresser up against the bedroom door, leaving a furious Terry to bang against it on the other side. The two girls slumped down on the floor, exasperated.

“I’m sorry.” Michaela finally spoke lowly, running a hand through her jet-black hair. She was exhausted – not just from trying to escape her own father, but from hiding a very big secret this entire time. She felt even more guilty for getting Ingrid and her older sister into this. They didn’t deserve this shit to happen to them before the start of their spring break. “I didn’t think it could get this bad.” Michaela sighed. “Now Dad’s gonna fucking kill me.”

Michaela’s eyes were glued to her own lap, and for a split second, she jumped when she noticed Ingrid’s hand being placed on top of hers. “No he’s not.”

An uncertain Michaela turned towards the redhead beside her. “Really?”

Ingrid shook her head with sincerity. “Not while I’m around, he’s not.” A grin slowly started to appear on her face at her best friend, and Michaela shot an identical expression back before leaning in to kiss Ingrid on the lips. They moved with a very smooth rhythm as the police sirens from outside of the house became the music to their ears.

* * *

Both Ingrid and Michaela had gotten accepted to Ohio State University. Michaela had received a cheerleading scholarship from there, and Ingrid had gotten accepted into their University Honors Program. They made the decision to attend well before the intent to enroll deadline. It would take some getting used to, specifically on Michaela’s end, but other than that, the two girls were happy with their choice.

With Michaela’s father in the slammer and their love for one another revealed to the entire school, the two girls were in a better place than before to start anew with their relationship. They had gone on dates after cheerleading practices and did a lot more than study at each other’s houses. Even Mandy started a habit of heading out to the Gallagher house to see Lip, and vice versa, whenever both Ingrid and Michaela were in the same place. It always made Ingrid laugh, and as guilty as Michaela should be feeling about it in terms of context, she was always happy to see Ingrid smile.

Ingrid and Michaela both attended prom together, with Michaela winning prom queen in the end. Ingrid had gotten so proud of her girlfriend that she decided to look into setting up a little treat for her when the formal part of the evening was over.

So when Ingrid and Michaela hopped into their limo and left the prom site, they had been riding through the busy streets of downtown Chicago, leaving Michaela utterly perplexed.

“Gallagher, where the hell are we even going?” she had asked Ingrid, who had a smug look on her face at the sight of the girl in the red dress across from her.

“It’s a surprise.” That was all Ingrid said before she started scooting over to her girlfriend, placing a seductive hand on Michaela’s arm, despite her utter confusion.

They were in the limo for the next fifteen minutes until it pulled up in front of a hotel entrance. When the chauffer opened the door for the girls to get out, Michaela took one long look at her surroundings. She had no idea where they were nor did she know how Ingrid could afford a place like this.

Ingrid had gotten out of the limo before taking Michaela’s hand and walking through the glass doors. Ingrid had given the man at the counter all of the information she had, and he had given Ingrid the key to the hotel room on the ninth floor of the building.

The redhead faced Michaela before grabbing a handkerchief out of her clutch. “Close your eyes.” Ingrid told her girlfriend, who was still confused as to what the hell was going on.

“I’m not tripping over my fucking heels,” Michaela argued, “and if I do, I’m blaming it on your ass.”

Ingrid stuck her bottom lip out at her and pouted. “Come on,” she begged. “I want the surprise to be really special. After all, it is prom night, isn’t it?” When she didn’t receive an answer from Michaela, Ingrid sighed. “Just do this for me just once. I’ll hold you the whole way there. Promise.”

Michaela stared Ingrid in the eyes for a good thirty seconds before she reluctantly sighed and gave in. “Fine. Just this once.”

A happy giggle escaped Ingrid’s lips, and Michaela would record that little giggle so she could hear it every day, if she could. Ingrid took the handkerchief and wrapped it around Michaela’s eyes, making sure Michaela couldn’t see a thing. Michaela felt a warm hand grab onto her right hand, and another grab Michaela’s left arm. “I’ll help you to the elevator. Just follow my voice.”

It was harder than Ingrid had expected it to be, being that there were a lot of other guests here at the hotel that were roaming the halls on the ground floor. Ingrid kept checking behind Michaela’s legs to make sure that her dress wasn’t dragging onto anything. Michaela specifically chose it so she would be able to see her legs when she walked.

However, she didn’t think too much about the damn thing trailing behind her.

Lucky for the girls, they made it onto the elevator in the nick of time, carrying their dresses inside with them as the cart took them up to the ninth floor. When the elevator doors opened, Ingrid guided Michaela out, carrying both of their dresses’ ends before the elevator doors shut on them.

“Can I open my fucking eyes now?” Michaela asked, impatient. “I felt myself almost falling backwards, and it felt like I was jumping off a building.”

Ingrid chuckled under her breath, keeping firm hands on her girlfriend as she took her to Room 917. “Not until I say so. Trust me, you’re gonna like this.”

Although Michaela’s eyes weren’t currently visible, she could still roll them underneath the handkerchief. Ingrid was always so adventurous, and when the two of them got together, people always wondered how someone like Michaela could keep up with someone like Ingrid.

Boy, they had no idea.

The girls finally made it to the door, and Ingrid unlocked the room door with her key. She continued guiding Michaela until they both stood in the center of the room. Ingrid rushed back to the entrance to close the door shut and then skipped back over to Michaela. “I’m gonna count to three, and when I do, open your eyes.” Michaela nodded, sighing in relief.

Ingrid took her hands and placed them on the knot that was keeping the handkerchief on Michaela’s face. “One…two…three.” Ingrid had taken the handkerchief off her girlfriend, and Michaela’s eyes literally bugged out of her eyes at the sight of what she just walked into.

The queen-sized bed in front of them had rose petals scattered around on top of the white comforter, and two roses with stems on them were laying on the pillows. There was a coffee table sitting at the foot of the bed with a bottle of sparkling cider in a tin of ice, and on the nightstand with the lamps on them sat a bowl of strawberries with whipped cream and chocolate. The room was so dark yet the lamps illuminated the gorgeous sight Michaela was seeing in front of her eyes.

The shorter girl turned to the redhead next to her. “Ingrid, this is…” She was suddenly speechless because she cannot believe that her girlfriend had did all of this for her. “This is fucking amazing.” Michaela could barely move with the sensation of her surroundings spreading throughout her body.

At one moment, Michaela got back to reality and turned to Ingrid again, incredulous. “How the fuck were you able to afford this?”

Ingrid shrugged. “Debbie and Fiona helped. Plus, I’ve been saving up money for a while for something special that I really wanted. Wasn’t sure what I really wanted at the time, though.”

The two girls gazed into each other’s eyes, and Michaela bit at her bottom lip, blue gazing upon green. The sight of the light shining behind Michaela brought so much joy to Ingrid’s eyes, and she couldn’t help but smile sweetly at it. “I guess you were the something special I’ve been waiting for all this time, aren’t you?”

Michaela started to blush incredibly. Ingrid, out of impulse, leaned in to kiss Michaela on the lips, initiating the first make-out session of the night. The next four years were going to be their best, and they both damn well knew it.

**Author's Note:**

> I know it's late as hell, but I kinda wanted to do this for National Girlfriend's Day of this month (but things got in the way). Also, this is my first gender-swap fic, and I have no idea on whether I did it justice or not, lmao.


End file.
